Motor Your Way Through Behavior-Based Questions

One difficult type of question you’ll face in interviews is the behavior-based question.  It’s a question starting out something like, “Tell me about a time when you…”  Interviewers won’t be satisfied with a philosophical answer, they want real situations.  And, there will surely be a number of layering [drill-down] questions to follow.  They want details.

How can you possibly prepare for all the possibilities?  I can think of at least three ways: 

1. Do some research on behavior-based questions–Google searches will come up with a bunch of examples for you. 
2. Think about the characteristics an employer will prize in the type of position you are seeking.  For example, if one of them is tenacity, they are likely to ask a question about a situation where a lot of roadblocks were put in your way.  You can get clues from the job posting, or from network contacts that are familiar with the company or job, or from your own experience on a similar job.
3. Learn how to organize your answers using the CAR model.  CAR is an acronym for Challenge-Action-Results.  Most candidates can’t organize an answer to save their souls.  They wander off on all sorts of tangents and sometimes never get to the point–at least not while anyone in the room is still listening.  You’ll get high marks just for keeping your answer orderly and on point. The CAR model:

• Challenge — Give just enough background so the listeners understand the situation.  Make the summary brief but complete, so you don’t have to keep circling back to add details later,  interrupting the flow of your answer.
• Action — Tell what you and others did.  Keep to the sequence of how things evolved so your listener can stay with the story.
• Results — Give them a bottom-line outcome.  Add lessons learned.

Behavior-based questions can present a wonderful opportunity to talk about accomplishments on your resume.  So, think about how key characteristics required on the job in question relate to one or more of your accomplishments. 

Your answer doesn’t always have to have a beautiful outcome.  Sometimes we did the right thing and it didn’t work out.  Sometimes we did the wrong thing, but we learned from it.  Nevertheless, beautiful outcomes are nice if you’ve got them.

Interviewers will expect to surprise you with the topics they choose.  So, they anticipate you will pause and think for a couple of moments before answering.  Understanding this will take stress out the eerie silence in the room as you search your brain for the right example and organize your answer using the CAR model.

Use the CAR model and you’ll motor your way through the answers to behavior-based questions.  [Did I really say that?  Ptuuuy!]